Preachers Dare: Speaking for God

by William H. Willimon

Preachers Dare is adapted from Will Willimon's Lyman Beecher Lectures on Preaching at Yale and is inspired by a quote from the great theologian Karl Barth. In a world in which sermons too often become hackneyed conventional wisdom or tame common sense, preachers dare to speak about the God who speaks to us as Jesus Christ. Willimon draws upon his decades of preaching, as well as his many books on the practice of homiletics, to present a bold theology of preaching. This work emphasizes preaching as a distinctively theological endeavor that begins with and is enabled by God. God speaks, preachers dare to speak the speech of God, and the church dares to listen. By moving from the biblical text to the contemporary context, preachers dare to speak up for God so that God might speak today. With fresh biblical insights, creativity and pointed humor, Willimon gives today's preachers and congregations encouragement to speak with the God who has so graciously and effusively spoken to us.

260 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 6, 2020

About the author

The Reverend Dr. William H. Willimon is Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at the Divinity School, Duke University. He served eight years as Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of The United Methodist Church, where he led the 157,000 Methodists and 792 pastors in North Alabama. For twenty years prior to the episcopacy, he was Dean of the Chapel and Professor of Christian Ministry at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've given this five stars even though there's a bit of a lull in the middle of it. The book overall is full of good things to think about if you're a preacher - or even if you're not, even if you're 'just' a layperson sitting in the pews.
Even though Willimon has been preaching for well over fifty years, his enthusiasm is undiminished, in spite of the changes in the world, with preachers having to sit in front of a camera, for example, preaching to an unseen congregation (which may include many people he's never met or likely to meet), and in spite of increasing antagonism towards Christianity itself, and the message it carries of hope and health, and salvation, for the entire world.
All preachers should read at least some of this book: it will enthuse you, inspire you and keep your feet grounded in humility.

[Sarah Bereza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay so I knew Willimon was an insightful writer, but I didn't realize how funny he can be! I've read this quote to several people and the last line just makes me cackle: "Maybe you are going through a rough time in your life and your preaching owes more to your reaction to your personal problems than to your exegesis of the Scripture. Perhaps you are preaching for the wrong reasons, improper motivation, the way you were raised as a child, in response to some trauma, or out of your resentment that God has stuck a talented person like you with a congregation of losers like them." (He continues: “Don’t worry. A resourceful, redemptive God who turned a cross into a sign of victory can still figure out how to use you.”)

[Devin Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Assigned reading for seminary. There some big positives about this book. The author writes likes he’s preaching. While this means the grammar isn’t always perfect, the reader can almost feel is pacing as if you were hearing it. I love that. He uses Barth as his spring board throughout and gave me a lot of things to consider. Ultimately, I came away with a deeper appreciation for the place of the preacher (within a church context or not) and that’s work worth the read in my opinion.